‘File 21/1 I Zubarah’ [61r] (126/474)
The record is made up of 1 volume (230 folios). It was created in 21 Jun 1944-15 Jun 1947. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
c£)
D.O. NO.C/622.
Dated the 11th June, 1946,
/it
r (4 ^
Dear Colonel Hay, ^ ^
Will you please refer to Pelly*# demi-official
letter No.P.12 dated the 23rd August, 1945, to me?
S>
2. i enclose a copy of a letter which the Shaikh of
Bahrain has addressed to me on the subject oi aubarah.
I, like the Shaikh, do not propose to recapitulate the
original causes of the dispute, nor do I propose to enumerate
the manner in which shaikh Abdulla bin Qasim has failed to
carry out the terms of the agreement. I thimt, in fact, it
would be difficult to do so in view of the nebulous terms
of the agreement, though possibly the maintenance of a guard
by the Shaikh of Qatar in his tower at JALAT MARIR is a
definite instance.
3. While I have been
political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
, Bahrain, I have
not heard so much of the
Zubarah
18th-century town located 105 km from Doha.
dispute as ay predecessor,
but the situation as regards feeling in Bahrain over the
"loss of
Zubarah
18th-century town located 105 km from Doha.
" is very much as stated in Felly’s demi-
official letter quoted above. I have, however, had many
long talks with Shaikh Salman on the subject with the upshot
that I asked him to state his case in the form of a letter.
This he has now done.
4. To turn to the shaikh’s letter, you will see that
in paragraph 3 he states that the
political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
brought
him the letter to sign, and that as it was the political
Agent who conducted all the negotiations it is, therefore,
the
political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
who must see that the agreement is
carried out. This attitude is repeated in paragraph 6,
and is logical enough.
5. A difficulty with which I am faced in approaching
the problem is the vague wording of the agreement under
which it is almost impossible to tie any one party down to
any one thing. I, myself, do not know what was really
intended nor what reading the two shaikhs actually place
on it. I know that Shaikh Salman reads into/more than it
says. He writes that the meaning of the agreement is clear.
That is wishful thinking, though if read with Hickinbotham*s
explanatory letter No.C/958 dated the 21st June, 1946 (copy
sent to you under cover of
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
letter No.c/968 dated the 77
24th June, 1944) the period of the hark back is clarified.
I cannot conceive that shaikh Salman was so simple at the
time as to think that he would get back all his ’rights’
in
Zubarah
18th-century town located 105 km from Doha.
, nor that Abdulla would be so forthcoming as to
give them back just out of "respect and courtesy".
5 '
9 Kon»ble Lt-Col. W.R. Hay, C.S.I., C.I.E.,
Political Resident
A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
in the Persian Gulff
(Camp) Bahrain.
/6. To consider.....
About this item
- Content
The volume comprises correspondence concerning the ongoing dispute between the Rulers of Bahrain and Qatar over the sovereignty of Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. and the surrounding area on the Qatar Peninsula. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain (Cornelius James Pelly; Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay), the Ruler of Bahrain (Sheikh Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah), and the Ruler of Qatar (Sheikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī).
The volume includes:
- an initial exchange of letters between the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and the Rulers of Bahrain and Qatar, between February and July 1945, relating to the Ruler of Bahrain’s complaints that some of his subjects had gone to a place called Bruk on the Qatar Peninsula (near Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. ) to collect wood, and had been harassed by men associated with the Ruler of Qatar (ff 2-41). Underlying the dispute are the differing interpretations of the two Rulers to the agreement, signed by them in June 1944, to restore friendly relations between the states of Bahrain and Qatar, and to restore conditions at Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. to what they had been prior to 1936;
- correspondence between the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , relating to Bahrain-Qatar relations and the 1944 agreement, including: comment on the vagaries of the 1944 agreement (ff 61-63); the difficulties encountered in the handing over of the role of Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. from one individual to another; the historical context of Bahrain-Qatar relations, including a note, prepared by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. (Galloway) on the history of Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. , up to the present day (ff 100-107); discussion over the possibility of requesting the Ruler of Qatar to demolish his fort at Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. ;
- ongoing correspondence amid a stalemate in the disagreement over Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. , including: the imposition by the Qatar Customs Officer of export duties on limestone shipped from Qatar to Bahrain (ff 50-54); the Ruler of Bahrain’s agreement that the Al Bu Rumaih tribe be allowed to emigrate from Bahrain to Qatar (ff 95-96); the dispatch of a deputation to Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. by the Ruler of Qatar; continued letters, some enclosing petitions, from the Ruler of Bahrain, making his historical claim to Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. (ff 125-138);
- correspondence relating to an incident in early 1947, in which an individual from the Al Bu Rumaih tribe, on returning to Qatar, was arrested and imprisoned by the Ruler of Bahrain (ff 167-204). An attempt by the Assistant Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. (Captain Hugh Dunstan Rance) to intervene in the matter in the Political Agent’s absence, provoked a strong complaint from the Ruler of Bahrain, which in turn brought a rebuke from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. (Pelly) on his return. In correspondence exchanged with the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the wake of the incident, Pelly suggests that Arab rulers, including the Ruler of Bahrain, are beginning to challenge British orders, in light of Britain’s ‘recessive’ policy in Egypt and India (ff 203-204).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (230 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the volume (ff 214-232) mirror the chronological arrangement. Letters in Arabic are generally immediately preceded by English translations prepared by Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. staff.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 235; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 4-213; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 214-232) have been paginated using pencil.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/605
- Title
- ‘File 21/1 I Zubarah’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:4v, 6r:8v, 10r:10v, 12r:13v, 17r:17v, 19r:22v, 24r:24v, 26r:26v, 28r:28v, 33r:34v, 36r:38v, 41r:48v, 52r:53v, 55r:55v, 57r:57v, 60r:63v, 65r:91v, 93r:98v, 100r:126v, 129r:133v, 139r:139v, 141r:141v, 143r:151v, 153r:154v, 156r:156v, 158r:160v, 162r:162v, 165r:165v, 168r:175v, 177r:189v, 191r:191v, 193r:197v, 199r:208v, 210r:234v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence